How to Create Your First Picture Maze (Using Image Themes Like Cats and Dogs)
Overview
“I want to turn my images into a fun, visual maze puzzle without spending hours designing it.”
In this tutorial, you’ll create your first Picture Maze using a simple and repeatable workflow. You’ll define the maze structure, control the difficulty, and use two image sets—one for the correct path (e.g. cats) and one for the surrounding noise (e.g. dogs). You’ll also see how to simplify the design by leaving non-path squares blank.
By the end, you’ll have a fully working Picture Maze you can reuse, customize, and build on.
Required Modules
Preparation
Picture Mazes are mazes created with images. One set of images for the ‘path’, and other images for ‘noise’.
Before you begin, gather:
- A folder of path images (e.g. cats, icons, symbols)
- A folder of noise images (e.g. dogs, unrelated icons), or decide if you want blank squares instead
Step-by-Step
Step 0: Go to Picture Mazes in Puzzle Maker Pro
Find Picture Mazes in the Puzzle Type list.
When you start Picture Mazes, it will use two built-in image sets for the path and the noise, to prevent showing a blank puzzle. Use your own images for path and noise, or choose ‘Noise Squares Empty’ to only show the path.
Step 1: Set your puzzle size and quantity
Find the top area for Picture Mazes to define how many puzzles you want to create.
- Set Quantity (start with 1 while testing)
- Choose Maze Rows and Maze Columns
- Use odd numbers (like 9×9 or 11×11) so the maze generates correctly
This controls how large and complex your maze will feel.
Note: It takes time to ‘draw’ all the images on the maze. Creating large mazes can take a second or more.
Step 2: Shape how the maze behaves
Find the Settings tab and configure the route.
- Enable Random Start Position and Random Finish Position if you want variation
- Turn on Meandering Paths to make the route more winding
- Enable Distractor Paths and Distractor Exits to increase difficulty
These settings control how easy or tricky the maze is to solve.
Step 3: Add your path and noise images
Go to Image Settings and define how the maze will look. You can click ‘Add Files’ or drop files or folders from File Explorer on the image lists.
- Add your Path Images (e.g. a folder of cat images)
→ These images form the correct route through the maze - Add your Noise Images (e.g. a folder of other images)
→ These fill the non-path squares and act as visual distraction
→ Puzzle Maker Pro will filter images to exclude path image duplicates for the noise image list.
This is where your theme comes to life. For example:
- Cats = correct path
- Colors = everything else
Step 4: (Optional) Use blank squares instead of noise
If you want a cleaner or less crowded design:
- Enable Keep Noise Squares Empty
This removes all noise images and leaves non-path cells blank.
Use this when:
- You want a minimalist look
- You’re creating puzzles for younger users
- You want to reduce visual distraction
Step 5: Check your image balance
Look at the label showing how many noise images are available after filtering.
- If your path and noise folders overlap, duplicates are removed
- Make sure you still have enough variety in your noise images
This helps avoid repetitive or confusing visuals.
Step 6: Preview your maze
Run a single preview to check everything before full generation.
- Click Next Preview
- Check:
- Is the path clearly visible?
- Do the images feel balanced?
- Is the difficulty appropriate?
Make adjustments if needed, then preview again.
Step 7: Generate your puzzles
Once you’re happy with the result:
- Click Create to generate your puzzles
You can now scale this up by increasing quantity or changing themes.
Outcome
You’ve created a complete Picture Maze using:
- A themed path (e.g. cats)
- A contrasting noise layer (e.g. dogs) or blank spaces
- Controlled maze difficulty and size
You now have a repeatable setup you can reuse for different themes, audiences, or products.